REVIEWS

Chronicles of Chaos (www.chroniclesofchaos.com)

To believe even for a moment that listening to this nigh one-hour long piece of glumness will be an otherwise gratifying experience, would be an exercise in naivety. How could you expect anything less than glum anyway, when one-half of this outfit is the man responsible for Torture Wheel's nightmarish realms? And naturally so, the first few keyboard notes herald what is to follow and leave no room for doubt: this is going to be a distressing listen indeed.

Although musically placed under the funeral doom banner, Wraith of the Ropes employ a very personal approach which allows them to pervade their own musical imprint through their compositions. Writhing with the album's tortuous meandering sound, I found myself gradually descending into its seemingly never-ending downward spiral. The dragging distorted vocals laid upon cheerless, almost mechanized rhythms and slow, hypnotizing guitars accompanied by low-key keyboards weave a horrific imagery of self-desolation.

Nonetheless, although the permeating soporific atmosphere that WotR manage to transpire through _Ada_ is indeed interesting, it leaves the album as a whole strikingly deficient in parting the listener with something to savor after it hits the finish mark. To illustrate this more clearly, it is like being taken through a dim and haunting journey only to find that the end is as obscure and dark as the beginning, allowing no sort of transgression to be achieved. A soundtrack to your worst nightmares? Perhaps so... However, I can't see this album enjoying many a spin on my CD player.

rating: 6.5 / 10

Nov. 28, 2005 - Andreas Marouchos